academics_ writing assignments

8/9/2019 Academics_ Writing Assignments

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28/1/2015 Academics: Writing Assignments

http://www.hws.edu/academics/ctl/writes_assignments.aspx

select a passage from the reading that seems most important, copy it

into the reading log, and then write several paragraphs explaining why

the passage seems significant.

use the ancient tradition of commonplace books:

for every assigned reading, copy important passages because they have

significant ideas related to the course material and/or because they

represent strong writing that might be imitated in terms of form and

style choices. Such a commonplace book will help improve memory of

course topics and serve as a helpful resource for review.

2. RESPONSE PAPERS

for every assigned reading, write a response that both summarizes the

main points (lower-order reasoning skills) and analyzes/critiques the

main points (higher-order reasoning skills).practice critical reflection as part of reading response:

-what was strong and weak about the assigned reading and why

- what was interesting, relevant, and connected to other readings and

why

- what seemed off the topic, irrelevant, or inconsistent with other

readings and why

- what assumptions seemed explicit and/or implicit in the reading and

why

- what opposing viewpoints to the reading seem important and why

- what are the advantages and/or disadvantages of agreeing with the

reading and why?

3. MICROTHEMES

use a series of short (100 words), progressively more difficult writing

assignments that can be completed in the classroom or as homework.

Short, quick summaries of assigned readings could be asked for first,then short syntheses of ideas in several connected readings, and finally

analyses of the quality of an argument or string of related ideas. As

micro themes grow in number and difficulty, topics for more formal

assignments like critical analysis might emerge and signal productive

directions for both teacher and student.

4. EXIT/ENTRANCE CARDS

using 3x5 cards, ask students to comment with an idea or question

about the topic under discussion for a specific class period, then use

their comments/questions to begin the next class period.

using 3x5 cards, require that students enter class with a comment or

question about the assigned reading written on the card and ready to be

shared for class discussion.

5. IN-CLASS FREEWRITES

interrupt a lecture or discussion with a short freewrite that asks students

to comment on what is under discussion. These short freewrites can then

be discussed or the class can move ahead. Either way, freewriting will

allow students to focus closely on a topic.

6. INVENTION TECHNIQUES FOR PREPARING TO WRITE AN ESSAY

use a focused freewrite on the day that a formal writing assignment is

introduced: review the material that has been covered and the actual

writing assignment then ask students to write freely for about five

minutes on what they are thinking about as a possible topic. Share these

ideas in class discussion, analyzing the strengths and weaknesses and

relevance in terms of the assignment.

use a center of gravity approach. Start freewriting on a possible

direction for the assignment and stop after three minutes, then:

- review what was written and underline or circle the idea that seemsmost prominent

- copy the underlined or circled idea on a clean page and then begin

freewriting again for three minutes, focused on the copied idea

- again review what was written and complete the same process of

underlining, copying, and freewriting on the specific idea that has been

copied.

Each time the student freewrites, in other words, the original idea

becomes more and more focused - the students draws closer to the

"center of gravity" for the actual writing assignment and have something

to start with for a draft.

write a discovery draft as a first response to a formal writing

assignment, one that is shared in a peer group and/or read by the

teacher and commented on for the coherence of its main idea and

supporting evidence only. Such a discovery draft will then allow the

student to build on early ideas as a more complete draft is written.


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Formal Writing Assignments: Writing to Communicate

When writing to communicate, students move from their informal and more discovery-

based writing to more formal, demanding and public expectations of particular discourse

and rhetorical conventions. Learning the conventions for specific fields of study,

developing different methods for analysis and argument, as well as fine tuning the

details of grammar, documentation and mechanics are central to the mode of writing as

communication.

At their most effective, assignments in writing to communicate can be built directly off

the scaffolding that has been provided through writing to learn. The two modes of

writing are connected in terms of developing content, but writing to communicate will

call for more coherent development and structure.

Students can be asked to review everything they have written informally throughwriting to learn in order to determine a focus or direction for their more formal

assignments in public communication. They may find an initial thesis for a specific topic

emerging through their ideas for using writing to communicate in the classroom.

1. ESSAY ASSIGNMENTS

Consider the PURPOSE or the primary focus that will be emphasized by a

specific assignment. Do you want students to develop analytical, informational,

argumentative, reflective, or expressive skills, or a combination of several skills?

The essay instructions should make clear to students what set of skills will be most

valued when completing the assignment.

Analytical: What is valued is the students' ability to examine closely the

connection between the parts and the whole of a particular subject and their

ability to investigate and articulate the way ideas connect to or contrast with

one another.

Informational: What is valued is the students' ability to summarize andsynthesize information about a particular subject.

Argumentative: What is valued is the students' ability to articulate a claim

about a particular subject with appropriate evidence to support such a claim.

Reflective: What is valued is the students' ability to look at experiences

retrospectively and articulate what has been learned from them.

Expressive: What is valued is the students' ability to consider the relevance of

personal experience.

Analysis is the skill underpinning all others. To write well from an informational,

argumentative, or expressive perspective, in other words, students need to use

their analytical ability to focus their writing.

A sense of purpose will connect to developing a central idea or thesis. Knowing

what kind of writing is expected of them (informational? argumentative?

expressive?) and reviewing the ideas present in their writing to learn assignments

will help students accomplish the difficult task of determining a central idea. After

reading, class discussion, and writing to learn, students will be more able to

decide what they want to say and thus have a starting point.A set of essay instructions can ask students to follow through on these kinds of

review and explorations to arrive at a working central idea. Students can be

encouraged to begin with a working central idea in order to develop a preliminary

draft. Ideas might be roughly sketched out to begin with using the following seed

sentences as frames:

I am analyzing/arguing about_______________ in order to

understand/examine_______________________.

Most people believe that _____________________, but my investigation has

shown that __________________.

We know this _____________ about ____________ we also need to know this

__________________ about ____________________________.

Seed sentences can help students get started writing and can then be further

refined later in the process of writing. Working with seed sentences might also be

a productive approach to writing to learn.

Effective assignments should also ask students to consider AUDIENCE.

Are they to be thinking of the teacher exclusively when completing the

assignment?

Should they be thinking of a general educated audience, or an audience only of

their peers?

Should they be thinking of the audience as completely or partially informed about

the subject?

Will the audience hold values similar to or different from the writer?

How much will the audience identify with the subject and topic under study?

Such considerations will help determine the form and style choices that can be

made and are central to the writing task.

Once the purpose, central idea, and audience have been established as part

of the assignment, consider providing students additional advice on the


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STRUCTURE of their writing. They might bear in mind these structural possibilities:

Thesis/Support: the most common deductive structure whereby students

establish a central idea or thesis after introducing the subject in the

introduction and then provide a series of supporting ideas with examples, facts,

anecdotes, testimony, statistics, quotations, and other details.

Problem/Solution: an effective two-part structure whereby students first

examine the nature of a specific problem and then describe an effective

solution that carries with it their central claim about the subject. The writing

situation considers a problem to which the student is proposing a solution.

Students can be asked to consider the costs and benefits of the solution

proposed.

Question/Answer: another two-part structure that is formed around an

analysis of a central question or set of questions that are pertinent to a subject

and then moves into a claim/analysis of possible answers.Narrative/Analysis: a structure building on story techniques whereby the

student details what is happening/has happened and uses these events to

develop an analysis/argument about the subject.

Finally, an assignment can also be accompanied by a MODEL that illustrates

the expectation for writing. Successful assignments can be saved and copied for

such purposes in future classes.

The following handouts provide examples of essay assignments that stress various

purposes, sense of audience, and structural ideas:

sample assignment emphasizing critical analysis (PDF)

sample assignment emphasizing analysis and information (PDF)

sample assignment emphasizing analysis and argument (PDF)

sample assignment emphasizing analysis and reflection (PDF)

2. WRITING ABOUT READING

Many academic assignments ask students to write very specifically about what they've

read. The following links provide helpful structures for such assignments:

writing a summary of what you read (PDF)

writing a synthesis of what you read (PDF)

writing a critique of what you read (PDF)

3. ESSAY EXAMS

Unlike essay assignments or research projects, an essay exam has a limited purpose

and audience: the teacher wants the student to demonstrate understanding of specific

course material and to do so in an articulate manner.

These general study habit hints might be useful as students work with material that

will be covered by essay exams:

1. take careful notes during relevant class discussio n.

2. read assigned chapters critically that is, respond in a writer's notebook withsummary and response, plus annotate the text.

3. review notes regularly before the essay exam.

4. prepare notes or outlines ahead of time that reorganize the material around key

topics or issues.

During the exam period itself

1. read the exam question all the way through at least twice in order to stick to the

question being asked and to answer it fully.

2. examine the key words in the question and make sure to consider the difference in

implication between words like "summarize" or "define."

3. make a brief outline of the main ideas to be covered.

4. write a thesis sentence that responds directly to the question being asked, using

some of the the question's words.

5. write the essay, trying to write clearly and concise ly the first time since there won't

be much time to rewrite. Make sure to use plenty of specific references to the

material in question.6. Try to correct as many errors in spelli ng and mechanics as yo u can find before you

hand in your exam. Be as legible as possible but don?t recopy.

Exam Questions

Exam questions should be written so that students understand clearly what is expected

of them. Is the goal of the exam question:

to show that students have acquired a specific body of knowledge?

to show that students can create an informed opinion based on this body of

knowledge?

to show that students can create a convincing argument based on this body of

knowledge?

to show that students can critically evaluate and acknowledge the ideas they have

been reading about and working with?

Common "Key" Words for Essay Exams and Ideas for Organizing Around Them
http://www.hws.edu/academics/ctl/pdf/summary.pdfhttp://www.hws.edu/academics/ctl/pdf/essayanalysispersonalexp100.pdfhttp://www.hws.edu/academics/ctl/pdf/essayanalysisargument100.pdfhttp://www.hws.edu/academics/ctl/pdf/critique.pdfhttp://www.hws.edu/academics/ctl/pdf/synthesis.pdfhttp://www.hws.edu/academics/ctl/pdf/essayanalysisinfo.pdfhttp://www.hws.edu/academics/ctl/pdf/essaycriticalanalysisfsem.pdf


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